0:00:02 > 0:00:03Of Scotland's all lochs,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07some of the most stunning are found on the west coast,
0:00:07 > 0:00:12and in particular, in wild and rugged Lochaber.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15This is a remote and beautiful part of the country
0:00:15 > 0:00:17which is seldom seen by outsiders
0:00:17 > 0:00:20because it's a long way off the beaten track.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Just getting here can be something of an ordeal,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26with no roads in or out.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33I'm on a loch-hopping journey across Scotland,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38where it's been estimated there are more than 31,000 lochs.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41They come in all shapes and sizes,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45many scoured out by glaciers during the last ice age.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49The great freshwater lochs of the Central Highlands,
0:00:49 > 0:00:53the long fjord-like sea lochs along our coast,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56and the innumerable lochans that stud the open moors,
0:00:56 > 0:01:01or nestle beneath high summits in dark mountain corries.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04All are both beautiful and mysterious,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07sustaining life and firing our imagination.
0:01:10 > 0:01:11Distinctively Scottish,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15I want to explore just how these lochs have shaped a people
0:01:15 > 0:01:17and defined a nation.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23For this grand tour, I'm taking the toughest of trails
0:01:23 > 0:01:25from the sea to Lochaber,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29in search of monsters, spies and hidden treasures.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45Starting on the west coast,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50my journey takes me to our deepest loch and its underwater secrets.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54I then make my way across Loch Nevis into the wilds of Knoydart,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57and onto the shores of Loch Arkaig
0:01:57 > 0:01:59where I search for Jacobite gold,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03and discover how these lands provided the perfect training ground
0:02:03 > 0:02:05for bloody warfare.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08But I begin here.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14These are the sheltered waters of Loch nan Uamh -
0:02:14 > 0:02:17the Loch of the Caves.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20A secluded part of the Scottish coastline,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22which has a special place in history.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26This is wild country.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32Ideal for clandestine activities and secret manoeuvres.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35It was chosen as Bonnie Prince Charlie's landing point
0:02:35 > 0:02:39on mainland Scotland in 1745,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42at the start of his doomed Jacobite rebellion.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46GUNFIRE AND SHOUTING
0:02:49 > 0:02:53The following year, on the run and with his army defeated,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57he returned here to make his escape to France.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02200 years later, this isolated loch and its surroundings
0:03:02 > 0:03:07provided the perfect cover for more clandestine arrivals and departures.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14It may seem hard to believe now, but during World War II,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17agents from Britain and Nazi-occupied Europe
0:03:17 > 0:03:20passed through this unassuming station.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24The agents were on their way to secret locations nearby
0:03:24 > 0:03:29to be trained in the dark arts of sabotage and spying.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36It's amazing to think of all the comings and goings that went on here
0:03:36 > 0:03:39during the dark days of World War II.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45I can just imagine undercover agents arriving with secret plans.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48But, today, it's just a sleepy request stop.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53When they disembarked, many made the short journey here,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57to the northern shores of Loch nan Uamh and Arisaig House.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Today, it's a hotel. But, in the 1940s,
0:04:00 > 0:04:04it became the headquarters for a shadowy organisation
0:04:04 > 0:04:09known as the Special Operations Executive, the SOE.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11- Hi, Henrik.- Ah! Hello, Paul.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14VOICEOVER: I've arranged a rendezvous with Henrik Chart,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16who's investigated this secret history.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18- This is your collection? - This the collection.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22VOICEOVER: And he's unearthed some grisly artefacts from that time.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24- So these are detonators? - They're detonators.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27- So you would attach it to, say, a door frame or a window frame.- Yeah.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30This would then be attached by a bit of string to handle of the door
0:04:30 > 0:04:32or the window, and then, once it was in place
0:04:32 > 0:04:34and the explosives were put in charge,
0:04:34 > 0:04:35the safety pin was pulled out
0:04:35 > 0:04:37and then if anyone opened the door or opened the window...
0:04:37 > 0:04:39- Kaboom.- ..you blew up.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42VOICEOVER: The SOE was formed on the orders of Churchill,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44with the instruction...
0:04:44 > 0:04:46"To set Europe ablaze."
0:04:46 > 0:04:50And they were equipped to do just that.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51I find this absolutely amazing.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53It's like an Argos catalogue.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55It was simply a catalogue of all the various things
0:04:55 > 0:04:57that were available to the agents.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59So here we have the exploding rat.
0:04:59 > 0:05:00Where they would get a rat skin,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03and they would fill it full of explosive and then have time pencil.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07You have this, the time pencil, inserted into the exploding rat.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09And then you could then just leave it on the floor somewhere.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11This could then be ignited,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13that would then set of the primer
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and then here you had the explosive charge.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17- This is deadly stuff, isn't it? - It's very serious.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- I mean, they really meant business. - They did indeed. They did indeed.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23VOICEOVER: It's thought that up to 2,000 agents
0:05:23 > 0:05:25came to this beautiful part of Scotland
0:05:25 > 0:05:30to be given an intensive course in death and destruction,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and sent back to their native countries to wreak havoc.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- That's a Sten gun. - It is a Sten gun, yeah.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39VOICEOVER: And they were incredibly successful.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44Two Czech SOE agents, trained in Scotland, were sent to Prague
0:05:44 > 0:05:49on a mission to assassinate one of Hitler's highest-ranking SS officer,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Reinhard Heydrich.
0:05:52 > 0:05:58In May 1942, agent Jozef Gabcik stepped in front of Heydrich's car
0:05:58 > 0:05:59and took aim...
0:05:59 > 0:06:01..but his Sten gun jammed.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04As Heydrich drew his pistol,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07fellow agent Jan Kubis threw a grenade towards the vehicle.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09EXPLOSION AND SCREAMING
0:06:09 > 0:06:13Heydrich was fatally injured and died days later in hospital.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17The two SOE agents were hailed as heroes.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20And they were trained here to become ruthless killers?
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Indeed. Hitler was determined to wipe these people out.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27The assassins were hunted down and found hiding in a church.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Gabcik committed suicide.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35Kubis escaped under fire, but died later from his wounds.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Meanwhile, back in Scotland, training continued.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42It was no-holds-barred. They had itching powder,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44and the German laundries would be infiltrated,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47and this would be sprinkled amongst their clothing.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49What, into SS officers' underpants?
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Quite possibly. Quite possibly. That would be an ideal target.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53That would get them marching, wouldn't it?
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Yes, the goose step would take a different angle altogether.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01This catalogue has helped Henrik identify many of the objects
0:07:01 > 0:07:03he's found in the local area.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And with the lifting of the Official Secrets Act,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11he's been able to delve deeper into this fascinating period.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14You had French agents, we had Dutch agents, there were Danish agents.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Agents from all the occupied countries.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- From Greece, Italy. - Men and women?- Men and women.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21There was absolutely no difference.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24The women get didn't get a soft ride in any respect.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26When it came to anything like hard physical training,
0:07:26 > 0:07:27they had to pass.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33One of the women trained here was French-born Violette Szabo,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36captured and executed at just 23.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39She was posthumously awarded the George Cross
0:07:39 > 0:07:44for magnificent courage and steadfastness behind enemy lines.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48But these must been very, very brave men and women.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50I don't think you can imagine how brave they were.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52At the time, they knew it was dangerous,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54but I think they were just so determined.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57And they were a very effective force, too.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00They managed to shorten the war by a year and a half,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02and I think they were unsung heroes.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07One of the SOE's specialities was train derailment,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11and they perfected their technique on this stretch of track.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Though, thankfully, not with real explosives.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20As I make my way up the beautiful west coast,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23I can see why many consider this
0:08:23 > 0:08:26to be the world's most scenic train journey.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31I'm getting off at Morar,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34home to Scotland's shortest river.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38But that's not its only claim to fame,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40because the source of the River Morar
0:08:40 > 0:08:44just happens to be Scotland's deepest loch.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50Incredibly, Loch Morar is 310 metres deep -
0:08:50 > 0:08:52that's over 1,000 feet.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Deep enough to drown the London Shard,
0:08:54 > 0:08:56which is an incredible thought.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03What lies hidden in the depths here is the subject of much speculation.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08As far back as 1887, there were reports of a creature in the loch.
0:09:10 > 0:09:11I intend to find out
0:09:11 > 0:09:15if Nessie really does have a less famous cousin.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20Joining me on this monster hunt is Professor Eric Verspoor,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23an expert in aquatic biodiversity,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25and local man Ewen MacDonald,
0:09:25 > 0:09:30who says he's had a close encounter with a Loch Morar monster.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- Have you really seen it? - Oh, I have seen it.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34I've seen it just up there.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36We were sitting on the bank one day
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and we've seen this thing coming down the loch.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- Like two submarines. Like that. Back like that.- The hump?
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Aye, and it was driving down the loch,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46and the head come out of the water.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Head down and it just disappeared.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53We were just dumbfounded.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55What did you think it was that you'd seen?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57What I heard in the old days from old people.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59You know, there's a monster.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01- The Morag.- The Morag.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07Ewan's not the only one to have spotted Morag.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11In 1948, nine people in a boat claim to have seen
0:10:11 > 0:10:13a 20-foot long creature.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18And, 20 years later, two boatmen claimed it accidentally hit it.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21So do think we'll see Morag today?
0:10:21 > 0:10:23You never know.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27One man who hopes we do is Professor Verspoor.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30He's determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32Eric, you are something of an expert
0:10:32 > 0:10:36when it comes to discovering what's in the depths. What do you reckon?
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Do you think there's much chance of there maybe being
0:10:38 > 0:10:40a strange and new species?
0:10:40 > 0:10:44I think undoubtedly we will find DNA that we cannot match,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46because this is a mystery.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48- It's a very deep mystery, too. - Absolutely.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49There's a lot of water in here
0:10:49 > 0:10:52- that's not really been studied before.- Absolutely.
0:10:52 > 0:10:53And lochs, they're like islands,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57and they have a unique evolutionary capacity
0:10:57 > 0:11:01- to evolve unique species of organisms.- Really?
0:11:01 > 0:11:05So I would be very surprised if we don't find organisms
0:11:05 > 0:11:07that we have not encountered previously
0:11:07 > 0:11:10that will be unique to this loch.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13The professor has the equipment to back up the theory.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18This surprisingly low-tech device is called a Niskin bottle.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Well, what we do is we put it on the end of the line,
0:11:21 > 0:11:22and you lower it to the depth
0:11:22 > 0:11:25that you want to get the water sample from.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27- To two metres.- Down to two metres.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29This is your control sample?
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Yes, here we would expect to find DNA of the typical species,
0:11:33 > 0:11:35and then you send down a weight,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39and it triggers the mechanism to shut the tube.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42VOICEOVER: This is not just theory.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Eric has already used these techniques
0:11:44 > 0:11:48to identify several new species of trout in Scotland's lochs.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51There we are. It's full of water. Rather heavy.
0:11:51 > 0:11:57And what we'll do is empty that into one of these bottles here.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Right. So this is going to be number one.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01And that's all sterilised, is it?
0:12:01 > 0:12:03It is all sterilised.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- That's our water sample going in. - Yes.- We've got a long way to go,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09if we're going all the way down to 1,000 metres!
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- We do.- That's a lot of samples.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13It's a very slow process, as you can see.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16This is going to take a month of Sundays, Eric.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18- Sealed and...- Number one sample.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21- There we go. - And now we have to go deeper.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Where it'll get even more interesting.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27VOICEOVER: For the professor, this could be the start
0:12:27 > 0:12:30of months of meticulous study.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33You need a lot of patience to be a scientist.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37And, who knows, perhaps we'll finally establish
0:12:37 > 0:12:41whether the Loch Morar monster belongs to the realm of science
0:12:41 > 0:12:42or superstition.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47But now it's time to hit the road again.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Although, from this point on,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52actual roads become something of a rarity.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56I'm taking a track from the north shore of Loch Morar
0:12:56 > 0:12:58that leads to the Tarbet ferry,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01the gateway to the Knoydart peninsula -
0:13:01 > 0:13:07220 square kilometres of rugged terrain bounded by two lochs.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10To the north, Loch Hourn, which means hell in Gaelic.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14And to the south, heaven, or Loch Nevis.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20And as I cross it, I'm blessed with a heavenly vision.
0:13:24 > 0:13:25Look at him.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32It's a real privilege to see them this close.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39This ferry service is something of a lifeline for the people of Knoydart.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40With no road connection,
0:13:40 > 0:13:45the only alternative to arriving by water is a tough two-day hike.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Our landing place is the pretty little village of Inverie,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53home to Britain's remotest pub.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Today, Knoydart has a population of around 100 people.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59After a community buyout,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03many of them now own the land they live and work on.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06But that wasn't always the case.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09At one time, 1,000 people lived here.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13But an all-too-familiar story of famine, eviction
0:14:13 > 0:14:19and forced emigration saw many of them gradually replaced with sheep.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21In 1948, however,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24seven men stood up to their hated landlord
0:14:24 > 0:14:27and inspired generations to come.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32They became known as the Seven Men of Knoydart,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36and their famous land raid is still celebrated today.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38The story is told in this song
0:14:38 > 0:14:42performed by Eilidh Shaw and Drew Harris.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Who were the Seven Men of Knoydart?
0:15:08 > 0:15:11They were just local men that worked on the land -
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Highlanders, estate workers, crofters, ferrymen,
0:15:15 > 0:15:19road men and boys that had just come back from the war.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24They were hoping for work, employment and food on the table.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29And they had a landowner who was holding on to the land.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33The landowner was the second Baron Brocket.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37A Tory politician, he bought Knoydart in the 1930s,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41evicting tenants and vehemently opposing land reform.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47A Nazi sympathiser who attended Hitler's 50th birthday party,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Brocket was despised by the people of Knoydart
0:15:50 > 0:15:54and particularly by the ex-soldiers among the land raiders.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19- So they took it for themselves? - Yeah.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22He tried to stop them, and put his lawyers onto it.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25I think he won in the courts
0:16:25 > 0:16:30but, morally, the Seven Men of Knoydart won the moral ground.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32When was the community buyout?
0:16:32 > 0:16:331999.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35So the Seven Men of Knoydart..
0:16:35 > 0:16:37They're the forebears of opening up the land
0:16:37 > 0:16:39and holding on to it
0:16:39 > 0:16:44and giving the people that live on the land the rights to be here
0:16:44 > 0:16:46and work on the land.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49- So they're heroes in your eyes? - Absolutely. Aye, they are.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Leaving Inverie, I'm heading west, following the road
0:17:08 > 0:17:11that runs high above the dark waters of Loch Nevis.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18The views are stunning and the landscape dramatic.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22No wonder the Gaels who lived here called it Na Garbh Chriochan,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25or The Rough Bounds in Gaelic.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27A fitting name for a spectacular wilderness
0:17:27 > 0:17:30which dwarfs the human scale.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38On the edge of this wild land is a small settlement called Doune.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41And here, on this isolated part of the coast,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43lives a real family Robinson.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46- Hi, Paul. Good to meet you.- Nice of you to meet me here.- No problem.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48- Where do you stay?- Doune here.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51- Doune here.- Doune there. It's a little bit boggy.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53VOICEOVER: Jamie was a teenager
0:17:53 > 0:17:57when he and his parents were cast up here at Doune.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00They'd left Cornwall to start a new, simpler life.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03- It's a pretty remote place to come to.- It is.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06And what was at Doune when your parents took it over?
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Very little. There was a small ruin
0:18:08 > 0:18:11which was built as a shepherd's cottage
0:18:11 > 0:18:14by Irish stone dykers following the clearances.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17And there was no roof, it was last inhabited in 1923.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Jamie helped his parents turn this...
0:18:22 > 0:18:24..into this.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26And he learned to be resourceful.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29He can turn his hand to welding, boat repair
0:18:29 > 0:18:32and of course, house building.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34There's a hamlet of cottages here now,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37and he even found time to build himself a house.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39It's a school for self-reliance, really.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Yeah, that is a very good way of putting it.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44It may be on the mainland
0:18:44 > 0:18:47but there's very much an island mentality here.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48This is the garden.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52This is more valuable than anything during the winter
0:18:52 > 0:18:56because I can grow enough food to keep us going.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00And when, after much travelling, Penny became Mrs Robinson,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02she bought a taste of the exotic.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05This is my Garden of Eden.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07Fantastic place.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09That is an apricot.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It does really well in here.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13This is a kiwi and then a fig tree.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15A fig tree? My goodness.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Is that the only fig tree in Knoydart?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19I think it is the only fig tree in Knoydart.
0:19:19 > 0:19:20I imagine that having a garden
0:19:20 > 0:19:23is actually a very important part of being able to survive here.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Absolutely. And just adds a new dimension to the winters.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30But how do you cope living here in the wintertime?
0:19:30 > 0:19:31Mentally, I find it tougher.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35I struggle with the darkness and the isolation.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37- But...- You've got compensations, haven't you?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39You've got great compensations.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43I can lie my hammock with my radio on and my book
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and I'm looking across to the Isle of Skye.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47You've got the Cuillins there.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49In the winter, they're just covered with snow.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52I mean, there aren't many polytunnels with a view like that.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Leaving Jamie and Penny in their Garden of Eden
0:19:57 > 0:20:00and feeling a little leg-weary,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04I take to the water again, heading for the top of Loch Nevis
0:20:04 > 0:20:07to make the cross-country hike to Loch Arkaig.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Bridge in dangerous condition...
0:20:11 > 0:20:15Oh! That's very wobbly.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18My path takes me below the magnificent summit
0:20:18 > 0:20:19of Sgurr na Ciche,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23which translates as, "the peak of the breast".
0:20:23 > 0:20:24I can't think why!
0:20:26 > 0:20:30But here, in this utterly spectacular landscape,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32I have found paradise.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37I'm at the heart of the Rough Bounds of Knoydart,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41at the fulcrum between heaven and hell.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42But this is no purgatory.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46To me, it's more like God's own country - it's really beautiful.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55But heading to the next loch on my journey,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59my thoughts return to more earthly concerns.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04Loch Arkaig may be just 19km long,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09but believe it or not, there's gold in that there loch,
0:21:09 > 0:21:11or at least somewhere on its shore -
0:21:11 > 0:21:14and these guys are trying to find it.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16But this isn't just any old gold -
0:21:16 > 0:21:19it's Bonnie Prince Charlie's gold.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21- Hi, Robert.- Hello there, Paul.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25And with the help of Robert Cairns and his fellow detectorists,
0:21:25 > 0:21:26I plan to get some.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28This is an old graveyard?
0:21:28 > 0:21:29This is the old graveyard
0:21:29 > 0:21:34where allegedly the gold was buried in a shallow grave.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38So this gold was to fund the Jacobite rising of 1745?
0:21:38 > 0:21:42Yes, to raise money to buy arms for the Battle of Culloden.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45In April 1746,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48two ships unloaded seven casks
0:21:48 > 0:21:52of Spanish and French gold at Loch nan Uamh,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54where my journey began.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56It never made it to the Prince
0:21:56 > 0:22:00in time to prevent catastrophic defeat at Culloden.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Before he fled,
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Bonnie Prince Charlie gave the order for his treasure to be buried,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08but no-one today knows where...
0:22:08 > 0:22:11We've all picked up quite a strong signal here...
0:22:11 > 0:22:13..but we might just have found some of it.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16It would be a wonderful thing if you actually found Jacobite gold,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and we happened to be here to witness it!
0:22:21 > 0:22:22We've found something down there.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Aye. Right along here.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27How credible do think these accounts are?
0:22:27 > 0:22:29The story is real.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33- The gold is somewhere in Loch Arkaig.- Mm-hm.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Sizeable, whatever we've got here.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38What you need is a JCB!
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Come and dig it up.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Sadly, it doesn't look like we've found any treasure.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46An agricultural implement of some kind?
0:22:46 > 0:22:48- Exactly, it could be. - It's not gold, is it?
0:22:48 > 0:22:50It's certainly not gold.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52I suppose that's detectoring for you. A lot of disappointment.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Yes.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56It's the hobby of the eternal optimist!
0:22:56 > 0:22:57THEY LAUGH
0:22:57 > 0:23:01But sometimes, detectorists DO strike gold.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05In 2009, an Anglo-Saxon hoard was discovered,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08worth a staggering £3 million.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12DETECTOR BEEPS What's that?
0:23:15 > 0:23:17Digging...with furious intent.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22There's no telling what Charlie's gold might actually be worth,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26but in Scots law, any find actually belongs to the Crown,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30but an independent panel decides a finder's reward,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33so I could still become a millionaire.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37I might have something here.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41Sadly, my treasure probably wasn't buried in 1746.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- What do you reckon? From the 1980s? - 1980s ring pull.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47It's maybe more tin can than gold coin,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50but Robert and his team are not giving up.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- So this at the start?- Yes.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Hopefully, at some point in time, it will be found.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00Leaving the ever-hopeful gold-seekers,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04I continue my lochside journey on foot,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08passing through country that's bound up with Jacobite history.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12And along a stretch of road known rather chillingly
0:24:12 > 0:24:14as The Dark Mile...
0:24:15 > 0:24:20..which leads eventually to Achnacarry House -
0:24:20 > 0:24:23the ancestral home of Clan Cameron.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29But if clan history seems to belong to Scotland's dark and feudal past,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32there was evidence, if you know where to look for it,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35of the part that Achnacarry House
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and its grounds played in more recent battles.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42These crumbling concrete foundations
0:24:42 > 0:24:47mark the outline of a typical World War II landing craft.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51It was used to simulate landing on heavily-defended enemy territory.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55It's an amazing thought that the men who practised here
0:24:55 > 0:24:58went on to do it for real on the beaches of Normandy.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Those men were Commandos,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08and Achnacarry House and its estate were requisitioned
0:25:08 > 0:25:10for their intense training.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17And it's here I meet clan chief Donald Cameron of Lochiel.
0:25:17 > 0:25:2025,000 Commandos were trained here.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21- 25,000?- Yep.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23That's a lot of men.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26They were here for I think about nine, seven to nine weeks.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Why did they choose Achnacarry?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31This is wild country, good training country.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36And also completely off the beaten track, so no prying eyes.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Only the fittest could become a Commando,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42and here they were tested to the full.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Marching over hills, climbing cliffs,
0:25:45 > 0:25:47zip-lining across Loch Arkaig,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50were all part of a gruelling regime.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And they used live ammunition.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57We had the bomb squad up a couple of years ago
0:25:57 > 0:25:59to blow up some mortars which were found.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01- That's kind of dangerous, isn't it? Bit careless of them.- Very!
0:26:01 > 0:26:03You have to watch where you put your feet
0:26:03 > 0:26:06when you wander through the woods around here!
0:26:06 > 0:26:10The enlisted men were billeted in Nissen huts in the grounds.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15Achnacarry itself was reserved for the top brass.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18What's fascinating for me are the murals that are painted on the wall.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21We've got one here, would have been above the fireplace,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24that shows a battle scene. We've got ships,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27we've got aircraft on fire, a dogfight going on.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32And behind us, where your ancestor is, there used to be a dartboard!
0:26:32 > 0:26:34THEY CHUCKLE
0:26:34 > 0:26:36And you've got this fantastic mural.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40That's an extraordinary dramatic scene of a battleship,
0:26:40 > 0:26:42we've got aircraft coming in,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44we've got bombs going off.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Who painted these remarkable murals?
0:26:46 > 0:26:49They were done by a chap called Brian Mullen,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51who was an instructor here during the war.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54So he was rehearsing D-Day with the Commandos here,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57training them up in the lands around Achnacarry,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59then in the evenings, in his spare time,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02he was rehearsing in paint the scenes that he might encounter.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03With the semi-nude mermaids -
0:27:03 > 0:27:06- he probably wasn't expecting to encounter them.- Oh, right!
0:27:06 > 0:27:07Where are they? Let's have a look.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09- Oh, yes - there we are. - He was a good artist, I think.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11- They're fun, aren't they?- Mm-hm.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17After the war, the house was returned to the family,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21who decided upon a more traditional decorative scheme.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23I'm afraid my parents didn't think they could live with them.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27- So they got painted out? - They got painted over in about 1951.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31And what of the man who created these dramatic murals?
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Tragically, Lance Corporal Brian Joseph Mullen
0:27:36 > 0:27:39died at just 33 years old,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41in one of the scenes he'd depicted.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45He fell on the 6th of June 1944 -
0:27:45 > 0:27:46D-Day.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Just a short distance from Achnacarry,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59I reach the end of my journey from the coast
0:27:59 > 0:28:02through the Rough Bounds to Lochaber.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06This monument was unveiled in 1952.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08And, as the inscription says,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10it's dedicated to the memory of the officers
0:28:10 > 0:28:13and men of the Commandos who died in the Second World War.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18It also says that this country was their training ground.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And standing here in this magnificent setting,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24I can't think of a more fitting place to end
0:28:24 > 0:28:26my grand tour through Lochaber.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31On my next grand tour,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35I'll discover how geological forces have shaped the lochs
0:28:35 > 0:28:37and landscape of beautiful Sutherland.